The only thing more difficult than figuring out who the Suns will select with the No. 13 pick in Thursday's NBA draft is deciphering the 12 players who will be claimed ahead of their spot.

How far is Latvian power forward Kristaps Porzingis shooting up draft boards off this month's buzz? Has Arizona's Stanley Johnson slipped from top-10 projections? Is Wisconsin's Sam Dekker making a surprise rise? What the heck is New York and Phil Jackson going to do with that No. 4 pick?

It will take one hour of NBA draft time to sort those matters out before the Suns select at No. 13, their seventh draft pick in the first round's teens over the past eight drafts.

Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough spoke confidently about the front office's comfort that a player they want will be at No. 13. There also will be trade options, not including the baseless rumors, which come up as the draft gets closer. They are often discussed and rarely executed.

In the Suns' case, there is some merit to the idea of moving a pick with a roster that is already plenty young. With seven players under contract who are 25 or younger (and another assumably coming in 23-year-old restricted free agent Brandon Knight), it could be difficult to find a way to develop another player.

After missing the playoffs, no existing Suns player is safe from having a player drafted at his position or being moved.

"We always need guys that will push our guys or even challenge them for a spot," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said. "Sometimes, that's hard, especially nowadays when these guys are so young coming in that you're not going, 'OK, this guy is going to be a starter this year.' Not unless you probably have the first one, two or three (picks) or something in that range. Where we're picking at 13, you're going to get a good, solid guy that can push our guys and maybe in a year or two take over their spots."

The Suns pledge to draft the best player available, even if that means a point guard in the first round for the third time in four years. A more likely scenario is that the Suns will select a big man because it is a roster area that could use bulking up and it is a position of strength in the draft's lottery range.

Kentucky shooter Devin Booker makes sense too for a Suns team that finished last in the NBA for 3-point shooting after the All-Star break last season. However, he figures to be a top-10 selection now. The more players like Booker or Dekker rise, someone will fall and that could mean a group of big men that the Suns like.

"Portis is one of my favorite players," said Ryan Blake, a draft consultant for the NBA who is president of basketball operations for Vantage Sports. "He has versatility. He can shoot it and stretch the floor as a stretch four (power forward). He can be that rim protector."

Portis, 6-101/2 and 246 pounds, is an intense competitor who rebounds and passes well and plays with a mix of aggression, intelligence and skill. His shooting release comes from over his head but he was effective with it to be the SEC Player of the Year as a sophomore.

"I think it (the Suns style) fits in perfect just because with Coach (Mike) Anderson, at Arkansas, we played a 40-minutes-of-hell type of game, up-and-down tempo," Portis said. "That is something the Suns play as well, up-and-down tempo, trying to push the ball and get easy buckets."

Phoenix Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek, left, speaks to the media with 17-year-old Jared Ornoski, right. Ornoski, a student at Phoenix Christian is an honorary member of the Phoenix Suns front office. He is currently battling Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Isaac Hale/azcentral sports

17-year-old Jared Ornoski (left) and Suns star point guard Eric Bledsoe (right) watch to see if Ornoski had made a lay-up while at the Phoenix Suns draft workout on Tuesday, June 9, 2015 in Phoenix. Rachael Le Goubin/azcentral sports

UC Davis guard Corey Hawkins, center, speaks to the media after the training camp. The Phoenix Suns held a training camp at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, AZ, on Tuesday, June 9, 2015. Isaac Hale/azcentral sports

Iowa Center Gabriel Olaseni preps up for a jump shot during a shooting drill. The Phoenix Suns held a training camp at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, AZ, on Tuesday, June 9, 2015. Isaac Hale/azcentral sports

17-year-old Jared Ornoski has his ball handling skills tested by Suns star point guard Eric Bledsoe (right) at the Phoenix Suns draft workout on Tuesday, June 9, 2015 in Phoenix, AZ. Ornoski, a student at Phoenix Christian is an honorary member of the Phoenix Suns front office. Rob Schumacher/azcentral sports

Head coach Jeff Hornacek and GM Ryan McDonough talks to the visiting players at the Phoenix Suns draft workout on Thursday, June 4, 2015 at US Airways Center in Phoenix, AZ. Rob Schumacher/azcentral sports

The chances of Turner, Kaminsky or Lyles going before the Suns' pick seem to be greater than Portis' ceiling but there is great disparity in opinion, particularly on Lyles after he played out of position as a small forward in limited minutes as a Kentucky freshman.

All four of those big men worked out for the Suns, although Kaminsky's workout was cut short when he took a shot above his eye and needed stitches.

Turner did not participate in a group workout in Phoenix but visited Wednesday for a solo workout after assistant general manager Pat Connelly saw him in Las Vegas at an agent workout that was open to NBA executives. Concerns that Turner's odd running form could cause health issues have been allayed by his postseason training work and medicals tests. When it comes to basketball, Turner has the intelligence, shooting, shot-blocking and mobility that project well.

Kaminsky would be the most popular pick and the most ready to contribute right away as a four-year player who was consensus National Player of the Year and is 22 years old. Most lottery picks are 19 and 20 years old. Kaminsky is knocked for not being athletic but he has shown strong footwork and could replace the deep shooting element from a big man that was lost in Channing Frye's departure last year.

The Arizona first-round candidates, Johnson and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, are likely to be taken before and after the Suns pick. Brandon Ashley is a prospect for the second round, where the Suns select 44th, and Wildcats teammate T.J. McConnell's workouts have helped his stock.

Hollis-Jefferson's late first-round status seemed tenuous until he received a "green room" invitation to New York for Thursday That means he is a likely first-round pick, if not a top 20 one.

"There are teams that really love a lot about Rondae, but it gets back to the old story: if you're not making perimeter shots and you happen to be a perimeter player, then teams basically are going to play defensively five on four," ESPN draft analyst Fran Fraschilla said.